Joe Douglas jokingly references Jamal Adams saga
New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas took to the podium on Monday to give his closing comments on the team’s 2021 season.
Douglas provided much detail on his thoughts regarding the franchise’s present and future, but the highlight of the press conference was Douglas’ reaction to a question that referenced the Jamal Adams melodrama from the 2020 offseason.
A media member asked Douglas whether defensive tackle Quinnen Williams would be a “Jet for life,” a direct reference to when Douglas said “The plan is for Jamal [Adams] to be a Jet for life” in February 2020 when discussing Adams’ contract situation.
Douglas got a big chuckle out of the question, jokingly responding, “I’m not going to say that anymore.”
Williams is entering the same stage of his career as Adams was when he and the Jets failed to agree on a contract extension, resulting in him being traded to Seattle. The Alabama product is heading into the fourth year of his rookie contract after being selected by the Jets with the third overall pick in the 2019 draft, while Mike Maccagnan was still in the GM’s chair. New York must make a decision on Williams’ fifth-year option for the 2023 season prior to May 3.
Douglas dove into many other topics during his press conference.
Regarding left tackle Mekhi Becton, Douglas said, “I expect big things from him next year.”
"I expect big things from him next year"
– Joe Douglas on Mekhi Becton pic.twitter.com/9PfoXQqH7C
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) January 10, 2022
Douglas analyzed the flexibility that the Jets have with their hoard of assets.
"We have great flexibility to really use these assets in different ways." pic.twitter.com/uuC8rNqz0D
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 10, 2022
Douglas praised the development that he saw from quarterback Zach Wilson throughout his rookie season.
"I saw a ton of growth from Zach this year." pic.twitter.com/9fcw27o6oa
— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 10, 2022
The next big step for Douglas and the Jets’ brass is Senior Bowl week in Mobile, Ala. The game is scheduled for February 5 while teams will also get the chance to scout players in drills and practices during the week ahead of the game.
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He said it with a chuckle but he didn’t look happy about it at all. I saw the same thing, but if you watch, he says it while he’s getting up to exit and he did not look happy. I will say this, his handling of Adams was 100% spot on, even with the “Jet for life” comment. When a player brings his negotiations to the media, the organization does EXACTLY what Joe did. Make it look like it’s the player who doesn’t want to be there. Of course in Adams’ case that wasn’t a difficult sell.
Look, I don’t agree with everything Douglas has done but I will say this, I’m not sure there has been a GM that has been given a more crappy hand than he’s had since the day he got here. Sure there are some bad situations around the league, but the Bowles/Cags pairing was an unmitigated disaster and that’s not even getting into Idzik. Then you add in Gase, who although they had worked together wasn’t Joe’s hire, who turned out to be one of the worst coaches in NFL history and that’s a huge mess. Let’s not forget the cap situation with Trumaine Johnson (I still blames Bowles for that one), or the poor team building with a bunch of highly picked players at the same position, DL and safety. The cherry on top was being hired AFTER the draft and fee agency.
Everybody kills him for the 2020 draft, being honest, the COVID really truncated the scouting process and Gase had say in that draft. You draft for the HC, that’s the plan. They restructured the organization, gave Joe the control he needed and since then it’s been positive. He and Saleh are attached, and I see this as year one, that includes Joe. Let’s give them 3 real years and see what happens. I already see the lemming beat writers all have the same stories: “The honeymoon is over,” “There is a huge gap between them and the rest of the division,” and “It’s winning time.” Let’s save that for the end of next year. Improvement is still key, and if they get to 7-9 wins next year to me that means they are closer to being long term contenders. Joe and Saleh can’t be held accountable for the 7+ years of trash that happened before they got here. That should have nothing to do with their “clock ticking” as much as we as fans are tired.
The never ending Jamal Adams saga… At least we got AVT and a 10th pick that’s a fair deal for Jamal Adams